[PP|F-01] Dog Days Be Gone!

[Kismet 0]

Eyes that twinkle like amethyst. White hair and fairest skin that reflected light like snow.

Kismet was lost in those colors, staring at her reflection in the small mirror in the attic she called home. She understood on a technical level that it was the Nervegear’s digital recreation of what it had somehow determined was her facial structure, perhaps the device had some kind of sensors on it that took pictures of her face as she put it on, maybe it vibrated and used the tremors it applied to her head to determine the exact shape, no one knew, at least no one she’d talked to but she had been lost in thought staring at her face before many a day just thinking about the possible technological techniques that had been used to get her exact shape.

Today though, Kismet was lost in the colors.

They weren’t her colors, and while she was sure she hadn’t forgotten the exact colors, after two years these whitest whites and pretty purple orbs seemed more recognizable than the colorful complexion of a skin that enjoyed the sun somewhat regularly and the almost black hues of her eyes and hair. Same could be said for her name, it wasn’t like she had told anyone that her legal name was Mel, she had naturally told anyone who asked that her name was Kismet, simply habit from recognition that this was an online game. Not like she hadn’t been using Kismet online for years beforehand.

These thoughts weren’t exactly new either, she had been living in this attic, in this town, for two years. Sometimes there wasn’t a better way to kill time than to stare at your face and just think the same thoughts you’ve had over and over again. As she reached a hand up to her cheek and pulled down on one of her bottom eyelids, another repeating but growing ever more frequent thought entered her head.

“I’m going stir crazy.” She released her eyelid, letting it close shut with a quiet smack, “I gotta get out of this town.”

She wanted to say out of this ‘game’, but that wasn’t really an option, now was it?

But the Town of Beginnings was safe, and while the world beyond looked suitable for a picnic or maybe even game of tag or literally anything to let the woman stretch her legs. Kismet had seen players wander a little too close to a boar or wolf and run for the safety of the town only to get caught and turned to particles, never to be seen again. Not to mention the horror stories of PKers hunting players for whatever insane reason.

“Still, I’m sick of working the same job day in and day out. If only I could level up just enough to sneak out to grab some materials, maybe pick up a crafting class, get my own place.”

Her reflection suddenly looked down as she did, staring at her hands clasped on her lap.

Hang on.

Kismet swipes her hand down in front of her, quickly flicking through the menus. Like opening a dusty book that had been sitting on an old shelf, Kismet had to scan for her quest log before finding it and opening it up to a quest that had literally been accepted nearly two years ago, she half expected to find it gone, or covered in a layer of dust. Here it was though, no spiderwebs about!

 

«Dog Days»

One of the Town of Beginnings nobles: Regi Windsworth, has lost his Scottish Terrier "Hemsworth." Meet him at his cozy manor to get a sketch of the dog, then meet the people manning the three stores he owns around town to see if any of them have seen anything suspicious.

 

 

The reward… The EXP reward… it was enough to bump her up a level, maybe two, she was already on the higher end of the exp bar from doing some simpler quests when this first started!
I mean, it was just one level at most… Kismet’s eyes drifted aside.
But that was twice as many levels! Twice the measly 20 HP! She wouldn’t feel so vulnerable and scared all the time standing near the gates! Yeah!

The level one player looked up, and noticed a notable excitement in her gemstone eyes with a hint of blood in her snow cheeks!

She stood up, then paused, ah, forgetting oooooone thing, or two. A couple flicks later, and she wrapped a white cloak around her shoulders, then carefully adjusted a pair of floppy, fluffy ears atop her head.

Now she was ready!

The bunny marched downstairs, nodded to the maid on duty and got a bow in return, then popped out the door.

And promptly stopped.

Kismet found herself locked in anxiety, despite having stood here many a time before, she found her legs locked to the ground with a heart beating out of her chest, dread written in her eyes on her smiling excited face.

Second thoughts.

What if the quest is still dangerous? What if it requires her to go outside the city limits?

She… She should… should go ba- No… Her eyes started scanning the people around her, she needed a partner, someone tough, someone nice looking!

Level 1|HP: 20|EN:20
Notable Items: 3 starter healing potions (50 HP)
Notable Skills: First Aid (Rank 1)

[Abellio 0]

The fiery-haired young man tore through the Town of Beginnings at a frightening pace. How long had he been stuck here? Days? Months? Years? He was losing his damn mind. Everything had been a blur since the announcement. Panic set in. The Frontliners blazed their trail, but a fair few had been left behind. The town was still quite populated. It seemed, even now, the place was a major hub of sorts. Abellio couldn’t imagine why. But then again, it wasn’t anything he cared to think about.

He just had to catch up.

This wasn’t his first foray into an MMO. He wasn’t going to compete for resources in a death game. People would be desperate and willing to do anything. And if he didn’t keep pace with them, it was best to let himself lag behind. Let the demand fall and when everyone had blazed their trail past him, then he would make his moves. It wasn’t cowardice - it was pragmatism. At least, that’s what he told himself.

But even just getting some starter gear had his heart beating out of his chest. He knew he was safe. He knew it. But that didn’t help the nerves a single bit. 

The only way to get over them was to blitz straight through. And so he did.

Every step cracked the air like a whip. In his wake was a tempest. A red-white blur darting through the streets that skidded to a stop at the central plaza. He looked left and right, up and down at a frenetic pace. This was not like other games, it seemed. There were no obvious visual signs to mark the quest givers.

He took off again, the gust of his departure knocking the wares off of a nearby stall. He’d looked around the Southern part of the city. What about the North? Moments later, he returned again and repeated his gesture before dashing off again. Twice more in quick succession, he dashed and reappeared. If only he’d realized that quest-bearing NPCs were marked on the minimap at the top right of his periphery.

On his final return trip, he scrunched up his nose. Bouncing on his heels, he looked around again - this time more slowly. Players and NPCs were milling about. There was a bunny girl. A merchant was hawking his ‘guaranteed highest quality tomatoes.’

Wait, bunny girl?

In an instant, his original goal was abandoned. How often does one get to meet a real life bunny girl? He strode over - which was more of a jog than an actual walking stride. His conception of speed was still muddled from his breakneck race through the town. As he approached, he tilted his head to the side. Abellio wasn’t the best at picking up on body language, but expressions were obvious. She was absolutely fucking terrified.

And he just couldn’t have that.

“Hey,” he called over brightly. He approached with a wave, stopping a few steps away. “Not tryin' to be weird, but you look fly as fuck. I didn’t know we could do cool stuff like that. You need a hand with anything? I’m lost as Hell right now, so I’ve got time to kill.”
 

Spoiler

Name: Abellio
True Tier: 1
Level: 1
Paragon Level: 0
HP: 20/20
EN: 20/20

Stats:
Damage: 1
Mitigation: 26
Stealth Rating: -1

Equipped Gear:
Weapon/Armor/Trinket: 
  - 
Armor/Trinket: 
  - <<Spiked Pauldrons>> 2 THRNS
Shield/Armor/Trinket: 
  - <<Chainmail>> 3 MIT

Combat Mastery:
  - 

Combat Shift:
  - 

Familiar Skill:
  - 

Custom Skill:
  - 

Skills:
  - Heavy Armor R1

Extra Skills:

Inactive Extra Skills:

Addons:

Mods:

Inactive Mods:

Battle Ready Inventory:

Housing Buffs:
  - Bathroom: The first time you would suffer DoT damage in a thread, reduce damage taken from DoT each turn by 20% (rounded down)
  - Basic Workshop: +2 EXP per crafting attempt
  - Basic Kitchen: Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps. Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.
  - Storage Closet: +1 Battle Ready Inventory Slot
  - Living Room: Increases out of combatHP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.
  - Slime Farm: +5% EXP to a thread. Limit one use per month. Must be used on a player's first post in a thread. Cooldown begins counting down when used in a post.

Guild Hall Buffs:

Scents of the Wild Totem:

Wedding Ring:

Crafting Profession:

Gathering Profession:                                                                                                                         

 

Edited January 12 by Abellio

[Ryo 0]

Another day, another set of hours set aside to mindlessly look for materials. He couldn't train his cooking if he didn't get more materials, but looking for them was always such a chore. Probably would be more entertaining to Col farm, and just buy them from the general merchants. That was an idea he'd had to try out some day. But today was today, and he was going to put off today's chores somehow. All he needed was to find to right distraction. Something quick, but long enough to waste time. Something big and exciting to keep him awake. And something to justify pulling him away from what he should be doing.

Then Ryo noticed it. A 6 foot tall distraction running through town. Ryo had to make a double take, initially taking the blur as Jomei for the briefest moments. He wouldn't have noticed him if he wasn't two things. First, a literally giant running about. Easilly towered above all the NPC's by a solid foot, maybe two. And secondly, the noises the NPC's were making as he disrupted the stalls. Ryo stood from his seated position, adjusted his katana, and followed behind them. Just to make sure they weren't doing anything illegal, or stupid.

Following the man for a while led Ryo to a different part of town then what he was accustomed to. He never really came this way, it was out of the way and didn't really have the things he would ever need to look for. As long as the NPC's here stayed in their lane and didn't jump him with their requests he might stay here long enough to care. Ryo stopped as the man he was following stopped and what he witnessed was, quite something.

"A bunny?" Ryo said to himself, blinking. Not actual ears, must be a headband of some kind. Regardless, it didn't stop his impulsive target from engaging in conversation. Ryo now had a choice, and after mulling it about he took a few steps closer. "Wonderful manners." He said, scolding the man with fire for hair. He looked over at the woman with rabbit ears and gave a welcoming bow. "A pleasure to meet you madam. I am Ryo, the violet samurai of Taft." He said introducing himself to both parties. 

<quest link>

Ryo | HP: 625/625 | EN: 91/91 | DMG: 18 | MIT:91 | ACC:3 | BH:21 | REC: 3 | LD:2 [TIER LOCK] PARTY STATS Spoiler Ryo | HP: 625/625 | EN: 91/91 | DMG: 18 | MIT:91 | ACC:3 | BH:21 | REC: 3 | LD:2 THREAD INFO Spoiler equipped »Gin Kin (+9 DMG) »Fierce Deities Coat (+36 MIT, +3EN Recovery) »Accuracy Charm (+3 Accuracy) battle-ready inventory » » » » » skills »Katana R5 (+7 DMG) »Heavy Armor R5 (+40 MIT, -5 Stealth) »Battle Healing R3 (18 healing per turn) »Searching R2 (+2 LD, +2 Stealth Detection) » extra skills »Survival (Healing effects 10% more, immune to environmental effects) »Leadership R1 (Grants access to Leadership Arts, takes 2 Extra Slots) »Leadership R1 » » addons »[Katana] Focus (Minor Crit on BD 8, reduce DoT threshold by 1) »[Katana] Stamina (-2 EN) »[Heavy Armor] Iron Skin (+15 MIT, +45 HP) mods »Impetus (+1 DMG) »Emergency Recovery (Heal 62 when brought below 156 | Once per thread | 10EN) »Night Vision (No penalties from low light/darkness) buffs » Dining Room: "Tasty" - Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. » Basic Kitchen: "Filling" - Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps.(Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.) » Living Room: "Relaxed" - Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.

 

Edited January 12 by Ryo

[Kismet 0]

Yeah! Partners exactly like that!

Kismet's anxiety melted away to intrigue, and she found her feet unglued and lightly dancing off the ground, like spring melting the ice off her feet.

Neither of the men before her wore red crystals, that was immediately a good sign and while that wasn't necessarily an indicator of whether someone wasn't into some shady stuff, it meant there was a very, very, very low chance they would kill her. Extortion and mugging were still on the table, but she could come back from those.

Plus, the red-haired guy that approached her first and initially snapped her out of her lockdown gave her golden retriever vibes, and the other guy was a real samurai. Kismet eyed the sword he was equipped with.

A reeaal Samurai, coooooool. Kismet couldn't hide how fully starstruck she was at his weapon, it was in her wide eyes thinking of how it's design hinted at it's powerful stats. She had no interest in becoming a samurai, but it spoke volumes on what she could become beyond if she could just get off the ground that was level 1.

Kismet bounced on her toes excitedly, okay, okay, two guys right before her, one already offered to lend a hand, the other an actual samurai that probably has been out in the fields and fought actual mobs.

"Actually, yeah! I really could use a hand with a quest." Kismet quickly opened her menu and stood between them. "See? I'm right on the cusp of leveling up, and I have this quest I never did when- you know- Arabian Knights or whatever his name was pulled the world's biggest hostage taking." It had been so long since she had heard or said the man's name that she had genuinely forgotten what his name was. It was probably fine, not like she was ever going to meet him again, probably. "I know it doesn't seem like a dangerous quest, but... well, I literally don't know where it'll take me by the end of it, the dog could be out in the fields you know? In short, I uh, really want to stop being level one, but I'm... well... sscared of doing anything that might give me EXP." Kismet's head drooped, and the floppy ears on her head with it.
"It doesn't help that I wanted to be a healer when the game started, but, my healing skill sucks. And I didn't really know how to fight in the real world, I'd probably just embarrass myself before getting gored by a boar."

The mental image of cartoonish Kismet getting launched to the moon by a boar entered her head, if only death could be so unserious.

[Abellio 0]

Abellio nodded along as the woman regaled him - and their new companion - with her woes. It was a perfectly-justifiable stance. After all, he was in the exact same boat. He resonated with her trepidation. Logic didn’t matter. There was no telling her ‘it’s just the first floor.’ It never worked with him, after all. It required a certain level of resolve. Resolve that she and he seemed to have found. Sometimes it takes getting sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Abellio was going to respond, but he didn’t really appreciate the chastisement from a stranger. His exaggerated bow and tone of speech was grating. It was giving neckbeard, honestly. While Abellio had no problems with those types of people, he really wasn’t about to sit there and let some overly-formal, incredibly stuffy samurai dude tell him what proper behavior was. Was everyone like this? Who the fuck says “madam” nowadays anyway.

He was, of course, completely oblivious to the fact that Ryo was not chiding him for how he approached the woman, but instead of his disruptive race through the floor. And so, he responded accordingly. He leaned back, swiveling his head to meet the violet samurai’s gaze. “Damn, man. You right. Totally forgot my fedora at the house.” With a grin, he cut his eyes toward Kismet. “My sincerest apologies, mi’lady,” he added mockingly and with an exaggerated bow. "I do hope you can forgive insufferable ettiquette."

He righted himself, snapping his fingers and leveling two sets of finger guns at the bunny girl. “Jokes aside. Escort mission accepted,” he said with a laugh. “Reckon between the two of us, any quest on the first floor should be a breeze. Plus, if we step in it, Mister Manners over here seems like he knows his shit. I’m Abellio, by the way. Nice to meetcha.”
 

Edited January 12 by Abellio

[Ryo 0]

Ryo raised an eyebrow. A, fedora? What did a hat have anything to do with manners. Perhaps there was an issue with the game automatic translation? It wasn't unheard of, but definitely uncommon. Ryo scoffed when the man used mi'lady. He would pass his vision over to the rabbit woman and take in her apperance. Was she a noble of some sort? No, she couldn't be. At least, not an NPC one. And, since when did nobles wear bunny ears? "Not quite there, but definitely a start. Some more practice and a gentlemen you'll make yourself yet." Ryo said commenting on the sudden improvement of etiquette. Ryo's attention shifted once again to the woman. It would seem that her plight was the same as another persons he had recently met. Seemed that she needed help with completing an old quest she had picked up, but was afraid of it being too much for her. And that may very be the case.

Regardless, if she needed help he couldn't very well ignore it. Ryo turned to her and nodded his head. "You've caught me at a good time. I've completed my duties for the day and am now free. If you would have me, I would be honored to assist you in your endeavors." He said, offering his services. After hearing Abellio speaking up about joining along, Ryo nodded. "He is correct. I do indeed know my shit. And will make sure that you do not come under serious harm." He said. "And, you would be?" Ryo asked the bunny her name.

<quest link>

Ryo | HP: 625/625 | EN: 91/91 | DMG: 18 | MIT:91 | ACC:3 | BH:21 | REC: 3 | LD:2 [TIER LOCK] PARTY STATS Spoiler Ryo | HP: 625/625 | EN: 91/91 | DMG: 18 | MIT:91 | ACC:3 | BH:21 | REC: 3 | LD:2 THREAD INFO Spoiler equipped »Gin Kin (+9 DMG) »Fierce Deities Coat (+36 MIT, +3EN Recovery) »Accuracy Charm (+3 Accuracy) battle-ready inventory » » » » » skills »Katana R5 (+7 DMG) »Heavy Armor R5 (+40 MIT, -5 Stealth) »Battle Healing R3 (18 healing per turn) »Searching R2 (+2 LD, +2 Stealth Detection) » extra skills »Survival (Healing effects 10% more, immune to environmental effects) »Leadership R1 (Grants access to Leadership Arts, takes 2 Extra Slots) »Leadership R1 » » addons »[Katana] Focus (Minor Crit on BD 8, reduce DoT threshold by 1) »[Katana] Stamina (-2 EN) »[Heavy Armor] Iron Skin (+15 MIT, +45 HP) mods »Impetus (+1 DMG) »Emergency Recovery (Heal 62 when brought below 156 | Once per thread | 10EN) »Night Vision (No penalties from low light/darkness) buffs » Dining Room: "Tasty" - Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. » Basic Kitchen: "Filling" - Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps.(Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.) » Living Room: "Relaxed" - Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.

 

[Kismet 0]

Kismet didn't have the heart to tell Abellio that Ryo was playing a character. I mean he was playing a character, right? Couldn't blame him if he was, this was technically still a Role-playing game and "when in Rome" plus samurais were cool.

"Yeeeeeaaaah, manners or no manners, I don't mind!" Although her lips did curl smugly at the mention of fedoras, her head shifting slightly as the two talked back and forth, her ears gently swaying with the movement. When asked her name though, she vocalized a 'heh', bowed her head, and swaggered back toward the door of the cafe. With a hop and a twist, she stood before them posed on her toes which were pointed inward. Her left hand meanwhile was held out fifteen degrees to her side and her other hand held splayed out over her chin.

"Allow me to introduce myself, cause you're about to set the wheels of FATE in motion!"

The door to the cafe opened and flooded Kismet with light, making her snow-white skin glow with power.

"From ten-thousand light years away, a healer who has solo-healed and carried many an endgame raid in other games, one who has claimed the title of master crafter time and time again and will soon again. The soon to be true might behind many a swrordsman with buffs and gears alike."

The lights cut out and a silhouette stood where the light once shown from, hands reaching out to grip under Kismet's shoulders as she dramatically opened her eyes and raised the hand near her face slightly as she started to shift her pose, ready to strike a new one.

"I am fate itself, I am doom upon my friend's foes and hope to those who hurt, I am-"

"Kismet," A woman slightly older than Kismet with green hair in a bun, dark skin and closer to Abellio in height picked her up like a cat and set her to the side of the door, "just because you're off today doesn't mean you can loiter in the way of real customers, go do that quest with these helpful men already, I can hear you from the kitchen." The woman turned and briefly toyed with lights again while Kismet sulked at having her thunder stolen, clearly manipulating the furniture options in her menu before carefully dimming them to an appropriate level for the entrance before stepping back inside. "Oh, and Kismet here is an asset I value both financially and emotionally," the woman said as she gripped the doorknob, "if she disappears on this trip of hers... Let's just say I know people who make the frontline bosses seem like basic field monsters." Without even looking at them, the woman calmly shut the door and left the threat in the air.

She then opened the door again and smiled at the rabbit woman, "oh, and we should work posing into your greetings, I think it'd be super cute. We'll talk more about it tomorrow, hun."

When she was gone for real this time, Kismet facepalmed herself with both hands.

"C'mon, let's get this 'escort' quest over with. Abellio, I can show you where to pick up the quest so we can do it together if you want." Kismet mumbled dejectedly, already regretting trying to be cool for even a second. Tomorrow was going to be torture for her.

Edited January 13 by Kismet

[Abellio 0]

Kismet was a cute name. As she began her monologue, Abellio watched enraptured. Towards the middle, there was a brightness in his eyes as he hung on every word. And, at the end, when she was interrupted by the newcomer, Abellio was clapping his hands in front of his chest with a smile on his face. Some people might have thought such behaviors to to be juvenile. Lame, even. Most people, actually, might have considered it to be a little odd. But not Abellio. He thought it was cool that she had thought up something like that. He certainly could never.

And as the matron made her threats, Abellio was suddenly reminded of another scary person he'd met. He wondered if the two knew of one another. But that didn't stop his response. "Boooooo. Get off the stage. She was being cool," Abellio yelled. He didn't respond to the threats leveled at them about bringing them home safe (or what would happen if they didn't). It wasn't really his concern. That was all Mister Manners.

As Kismet offered to show Abellio where to pick up the quest, he nodded enthusiastically. "That'd be dope," he replied. "Kinda lame that lady couldn't let you finish your thing though."

[Ryo 0]

The samurai watched the woman in both amusement and abject horror as Kismet began her song and dance. He let out a small smile as it continued. He had to fight an actual laugh when she was interrupted. Ryo shook his head slowly. "I agree. Posing would bring an entirely new level to your introduction." He said, agreeing with the woman. Ryo gave a slight bow. "By my honor, I will make sure that Lady Kismet make it home alive." Ryo said, offering some reassurance.

Ryo approached the group. "Right then." He said. "I'm pretty strong, so I'll make sure that if we run into anything too dangerous I'll be sure to kill it before it kills you." He said, patting his katana. "Otherwise, I'll try to stay in the back and let you do your thing." He said, assuring them that he wasn't going to just walk through the quest for them. "With that in mind, where to first?"

<quest link>

Ryo | HP: 625/625 | EN: 91/91 | DMG: 18 | MIT:91 | ACC:3 | BH:21 | REC: 3 | LD:2 [TIER LOCK] PARTY STATS Spoiler Ryo | HP: 625/625 | EN: 91/91 | DMG: 18 | MIT:91 | ACC:3 | BH:21 | REC: 3 | LD:2 THREAD INFO Spoiler equipped »Gin Kin (+9 DMG) »Fierce Deities Coat (+36 MIT, +3EN Recovery) »Accuracy Charm (+3 Accuracy) battle-ready inventory » » » » » skills »Katana R5 (+7 DMG) »Heavy Armor R5 (+40 MIT, -5 Stealth) »Battle Healing R3 (18 healing per turn) »Searching R2 (+2 LD, +2 Stealth Detection) » extra skills »Survival (Healing effects 10% more, immune to environmental effects) »Leadership R1 (Grants access to Leadership Arts, takes 2 Extra Slots) »Leadership R1 » » addons »[Katana] Focus (Minor Crit on BD 8, reduce DoT threshold by 1) »[Katana] Stamina (-2 EN) »[Heavy Armor] Iron Skin (+15 MIT, +45 HP) mods »Impetus (+1 DMG) »Emergency Recovery (Heal 62 when brought below 156 | Once per thread | 10EN) »Night Vision (No penalties from low light/darkness) buffs » Dining Room: "Tasty" - Turn 2 identical food items (same quality, tier, & enhancements) into a Lesser Feast. A Lesser Feast contains 4 portions of the food items sacrificed. Lesser Feasts created this way cannot be used outside of the thread they are created. Limit 1 item created per thread. » Basic Kitchen: "Filling" - Increase the effectiveness of a single food item consumed in a thread by +1 T1 slot. This can exceed normal Cook enhancement caps.(Ex: A perfect T2 MIT food gives 35 MIT instead of 30.) » Living Room: "Relaxed" - Increases out of combat HP regen by (5 * Tier HP) and decreases full energy regen to 2 Out of Combat Posts.